When Onyx Met Lavender
by pandaneki
Summary: Konoha's sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan is now in his late 20s and the thought of reviving his clan has yet to leave his mind. Sasuke faces the ultimate teasing, the biggest of dilemmas, why doesn't this seemingly perfect individual have a person to love? The Uchiha man's heart is still yet to be tamed. Will there ever be a time when this man will fall in love?
1. Prologue

**Sasuke.**

It's been 14 years since I left the village and it's my 26th birthday.

"Can you believe this? Late 20s and not a single girlfriend."

Yeah, it's been 14 years and my loud bestfriend still does nothing but get on my nerves.

Well, how can you blame me? Forgive me but, all the women in this village just seem like they're all the same to me. All love eye-candy, all so sensitive and they're too confident.

"I mean, he's got the majority of the women drooling over him, he's got so many choices, I don't understand."

"Women here are all the same, what's the fun in that?" I scoffed as I chugged down another can of beer. This birthday has been the same as every other one I've ever celebrated, everyone is having fun but me, the celebrant.

Ever since we were all young, females have really just been the same to me. And as a Jōnin, do I really have time to be in a relationship with someone? I doubt it.

I was in the ANBU just recently but I had spoken to the Seventh if I could lay back a little. Well what do you know, the idiot's achieved his dreams. He got Sakura, he became the Hokage, what more could he ask for?

Naruto snatched the can from me and squeezed my shoulders.

"Been awhile since we've had fun altogether, will you ease up a little bit?"

I merely rolled my eyes in annoyance. "Been awhile"? Last week they held two parties because of Naruto and Sakura's 1st wedding anniversary and their daughter Hayaka's 2nd birthday as well.

You can clearly see this bastard's been busy.

"Shut up, dobe. It's like you don't know me."

When I first returned, the treatment was a little harsh, considering what I have done, and obviously people weren't exactly pleased. But I'm glad about the people who accepted me just as is.

Lately, all I can think about is the word on the street.

People are suspecting that I'm gay, that I have some sort of fear of loving someone. They should know how hard it is when you lose people who mean the world to you. I have never loved any other woman besides my mother.

Yeah, yeah, call me weird. But I've just never been interested in that sort of thing. Hell, if I was, I may be married like Naruto is, and I wouldn't be slacking around and with just missions to do.

Everyone's in relationships and I just... I don't quite feel like I need to be in one yet.

Well in reality, there's just never been a woman to pique my interest in the first place. You might call me picky but, I'm all alone, you know.

If I'm gonna love someone, she has to be the right one, that I would be willing to rebuild my clan with. And just then, will I ever decide to make a move on a woman.

Though I wonder... is there such an person out there?


	2. I Foreign

It was a Friday, five in the morning and everyone's still sound asleep. Today had seemed like a day-off for everyone, but the raven-haired male couldn't sit still.

He came across Sai, Ino, Kiba, and Tamaki last night as they were on what seemed to be a double date. Stuff like this didn't usually bother the male since he had been so used to the sight and it really was nothing new. Lately all his friends could mention to him was how he was still alone, and everyone seemed to be in a blissful relationship.

Deep down he scolded himself to no end for overthinking. He was telling himself that this stuff has been no big deal for such a long time, why be bothered now?

He had a lot of reasons to be upset, but knowing the Uchiha boy, he would deny himself of the littlest things possible because of the discomfort that came along. He often preferred to keep his cool.

But it was true, everyone around him seemed to be so happy to have a person to love and a person to love them back. He has 4 years until he's finally 30, and his subconscious was pushing him. It'd be embarassing to be all alone then, he thought to himself.

But what did he have? Women that didn't interest him.

The Uchiha simply didn't feel like it'd be that easy still. He was even unsure if he truly knew how to love someone. What if he found the ideal one, but due to his lack of experience, lose the woman? He couldn't possibly deal with the pain and embarassment from that.

He longed for someone who would be like his mother, the perfect woman.

Someone who would be as gentle as her. Someone who would have the same, warm embrace. The same breathtaking smile. The same long, luscious and fragrant hair. Someone who could cook as well or even better than her. Someone who was as gorgeous as her. Someone who was simply so perfect, just like her.

He knew how much his father had loved his mother, and he wished that he could experience the same with someone. He hated the fact that the women who were interested in him only do for his physical appearance.

Not that he can blame anyone for it, since everyone knows the male has a tendency of being cold-hearted and such. He wanted someone who would be interested in him like Sakura was, someone who would care deeply for him.

He had kindly rejected Sakura awhile back because he simply didn't feel for her that way. He realized his feelings for her, but were more of a best friend to a sister kind of bond. He also knew about his best friend's strong feelings for the pink-haired kunoichi, and he knew better than to meddle despite knowing how Naruto would have probably accepted it.

"So much for a stupid Friday morning.."

He hated the fact that every day was boring, even missions didn't interest him as much as they did before. Here it was, a gorgeous morning and he was starting the day off by staring mindlessly into a lake.

What was he waiting for? He couldn't possibly just mope around forever, can he? This wasn't going to do him any good or help him in his situation.

For the second time in his life, he yearned for love.

It was a quiet morning at the Hyūga household, Neji and Hanabi were training and the former heiress watched them with her infamous soft smile.

"Onīsan, should I go prepare the tea now?" she stood up and kept a safe distance from the two, while making sure that she was audible.

Neji glanced at her from the corner of his eye and nodded with a smile as he instructed Hanabi to take a break. Things have been a lot different after the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Leaf Village is as prosperous as ever and everyone was thankful.

The Hyūga male has been married for about 3 months now, an arranged marriage with a fellow Hyūga, knowing how the family traditions follow. He thought to himself, hoping that Hinata and Hanabi wouldn't have to go through the same thing, despite the fact that Hinata had lost her longtime first love, Naruto Uzumaki.

He was deeply saddened when they first heard, he cursed himself when he watched and listened to his dear cousin sob in his arms, and it felt like it lasted forever.

The renowned branch family Hyūga genius held a slight grudge against the blonde-haired boy for awhile, because the whole incident truly broke his heart when he saw how much it affected Hinata.

But long since the event, Hinata seemed to be back to her old self, she was happy again. The same sunshine that he witnessed all his life that he vowed to protect.

Eventually she would find someone who would treasure her, more than he does, and more than anybody can, knowing how much she deserves it. Someone she can truly risk her life for and love patiently.

Hinata returned shortly after, setting down the tea and some cake she had prepared for the two who were surely exhausted from the rigorous training. Her voice broke his train of thought and he invited the younger Hyūga to come eat what her older sister has prepared.

They all loved spending the day like this, but recently Neji just couldn't seem to get it out of his mind. His tongue itched to speak to her and ask her about what's been bugging him. He knows that he can't rush her, and not that he would want to either way, but the sight of her everyday has pushed him this far and he thought that he should just go for it.

"Hinata-sama, can I speak to you over there for a bit? I have something I want to discuss."

Hinata nodded and followed Neji quietly as her eyes glistened with curiosity. "What did you want to talk about, nīsan?"

Neji prompted her to sit on the wooden floor as he cleared his throat. "Hinata-sama, I was just curious, if you currently have someone you admire?"

He was a little afraid as he spoke, careful not to say anything wrong that could possibly upset her.

Hinata's cheeks slightly reddened at the unusual question, wondering if her cousin had possibly noticed her looking at somebody while she was deep in thought and misunderstood. "Well, n-not now, why do you ask?"

Hinata fiddled with the sleeves of her jacket as she grew shy again, afraid to meet Neji's eyes for some reason. But what reason? She was unsure of.

Neji casually rubbed the back of his neck, a little suspicious of her behavior since dropping the question. Her shy behavior that she has hidden away for months has suddenly surfaced again and it heavily suggested that there was someone that came to her mind.

"Are you sure, milady? You're suddenly flustered and it seems someone came to mind." He gave a slight chuckle, prepared to tease her if his suspicions are correct.

On the other hand, Hinata's cheeks flamed as she pouted at her cousin, considering that if he continues, he'd be making fun of her for no reason. "I-i'm sure there is nobody.."

She turned away and folded her arms in a childish manner, adorable like she always would be and Neji couldn't help but ruffle her hair with a sheepish grin. "Well if you're sure then. You know how observant I am, I have my good old pal Shino and his fellow Kikaichū to get help from whenever I feel like so, don't I?"

This only seemed to infuriate Hinata even more as she reached out, desperately trying to pinch Neji's cheeks as a punishment.

"D-don't ever do that please! I feel uncomfortable s-since the last time that Shino used that method to try to get information out of me. B-but trust me, I don't have anything to hide!" She pleaded as her eyes glistened, on the brink of tears as memories of Shino's merciless behavior came back to her.

Neji smiled and carefully wiped her eyes to rid her of the incoming and unpleasant (to him) tears. He offered her a hand as he promised to drop it and suggested that they come back to Hanabi.

The younger Hyūga was in the same location, the wide space in the household where training is usually held. Her cheeks were rosy pink, like her sister's would, but looked a little dull compared to Hinata's since her older sister had a lighter complexion.

What would be the reason for that? The same mischievous and spitting image of the Seventh Hokage when he was the same age as them; Konohamaru Sarutobi.

Hanabi has long since admired this boy from afar, her admiration for him reminded her of her sister's love for Naruto, but she had hoped that Konohamaru wouldn't be like him and possibly be attracted to someone like Moegi, as Naruto was to Sakura.

His bravery, his foolishness, and the simplest things about him, such as the way he would never give up, became her motivation. She could understand why her sister had loved what would be the older-version of this boy.

She was embarassed that she thought of him, but would easily admit to it whenever she was asked. She may be the younger sister of Hinata Hyūga but she most certainly was different from her aneki.

Her daydream session of Konohamaru was disrupted by Neji and Hinata as they both returned, Neji had a permanent, huge grin on his face, while Hinata seemed to be flustered.

The three gathered by the door as Neji and Hanabi then teamed up to tease Hinata, and the day seemed like it was going to be wonderful as always.

For the past hour, Sasuke has been standing in front of the library, staring at the sign as people walked by. He didn't know what to do, what there is to do and he no longer knew what to think of either.

The day was going slow as he felt like he's patiently waiting for the pleasant void of nothingness to suck him in and take him to a world of peace where he could sleep forever. He was highly irritated, he was an idiot in front of a library. No, he seemed more like a statue.

Shikamaru, Temari and Ino noticed him from afar and decided to try to help him out of his misery.

"Oi, Uchiha. You just gonna stand there like some mofo who forgot how to human? What's up man?"

The pineapple-haired man looked up at the sign that Sasuke was staring at. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, but he questioned himself if the poor man had finally lost it.

"It's such a pain seeing you standing here like your cemented to the ground. It doesn't seem like you're caught in a Shadow Possession Technique of any sort, what's got you so hung up?" He began again as he got no response.

His dear wife and best friend who were behind him began to worry as well, wondering if they should tag along for awhile to keep Sasuke company. He really did look like he needed it.

All they got from the raven-haired male was a deep sigh and he merely nodded, he understood nothing of what they had just said, he was even unsure if he knew who they were at the moment.

The trio exchanged pained looks before deciding to go for what they had originally thought and just keep him company until he's good to go.

"How've you been Sasuke? Been awhile since I've seen you around." Temari started as she gave a half smile, eyeing the Uchiha. He seemed.. very different from his usually cool self.

Normally Sasuke would have made witty or rude remarks in response, especially to Shikamaru earlier, but he was still so silent that it sent chills down Ino and Temari's spines.

"Just... eh." He casually shoved his hands in his pockets as he eyed the street, looking for something to occupy himself with. Something he could stare at and get lost in once again.

Shikamaru cursed silently as he felt like snapping his own neck with the troublesome behavior coming especially from the Uchiha, but he decided to be more patient, since today seemed like something genuinely bothered the guy.

The trio chatted quietly to themselves for awhile, discussing none other than Sasuke himself, but he was too busy in his own little world to hear a word they were saying despite everything being clearly audible.

And just then, his cold, dark orbs met a pair of light and unusual ones. Where has he seen those eyes before? It stopped him in his tracks, to his surprise, and the three others who were trailing him.

Inside the bakery just two blocks away was a woman in a nice, simple dress. She gracefully tucked her hair behind her ear as she softly smiled at the people in the store. She picked bread wisely, he felt like he could watch it all unfold forever.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her now, he clenched his fist as this foreign feeling continued to rush to him. Her eyes were beautiful and even he cannot deny that. They held a noticeable tint of Lavender that was surely distinctive and he felt like he can stare into them forever.

Ino, Shikamaru and Temari, completely confused, pushed each other as they tried to figure out what had nailed the Uchiha down into this very spot. His eyes were different, they weren't cold or empty like they usually were. They certainly held affection, and it was a sight worth seeing.

The three trailed his sight and looked at what he was staring at and in no longer than a minute, their eyes were the same as Sasuke's. The beautiful Hyūga girl really was something to witness, they couldn't blame anyone, not even Sasuke for it.

But it surprised them, and right as they realized how he was in a trance, their eyes were back on him. The two women giggled and squealed together as they shook with excitement, and Shikamaru blinked slowly as his eyes widened at the Uchiha, realizing he was staring at Hinata with a look that simply didn't belong to him.

It didn't seem like Sasuke at all. A grin slowly made its way to his face as the Uchiha boy grew flustered.

"Well what do you know... I think he's got the hang of it."


	3. II Confusion

The raven-haired male stared at the very first photo of Team 7 and smiled as he reminisced about the old days. When they all first got together. When he had so much fun with them that he forgot he was an avenger.

He thought about what would have happened if he had never left the village. If he had listened to Naruto, and Kakashi, and Sakura, and never let the hate he so strongly felt for his brother take over him. If he had never associated himself with Orochimaru...

He sighed and got up, walking to the living room to get a better view of the moon. As he stared at it, the image of Hinata flashed before him. He shook his head in confusion, wondering why that had happened.

Then he remembered her pale orbs with their distinctive Lavender tint. The moon reminded him of her eyes that he stared at for so long just hours earlier. His face flushed as he remembered Shikamaru and all the teasing.

It was the first time he had ever felt so nervous. He choked on air the moment she walked past the four of them, which caused her to giggle. He never knew much about Hinata. He never paid attention to her back in the days.

All he noticed was that she was shy, awfully quiet, and she always blushed or fainted whenever Naruto was around.

As the thought came to him, he frowned, he remembered that when he came back, his friends would talk about it a lot. But knowing Naruto and how dense he is, he apparently never took a single hint of her feelings for him.

Then he also got married, and the Hyūga was heartbroken. But again, at the time he didn't pay much attention to her, because he was focused on how happy his bestfriends were.

He regretted his naiveté and hoped that he would be able to redeem himself. But then again, is he so sure he really likes this girl already? He was deeply enchanted by her in an unexpected encounter but he was still so confused. He had never felt like that before, how was he supposed to know?

He looked around his living room and set his eyes on the framed photo of his mother. Now that he thought about it, they do look alike. They both have long, dark blue hair and displayed one of the prettiest smiles anyone could ever make. His mother looked so beautiful even in a simple apron.

The Uchiha then realized what he liked the most in women. It's when a beautiful woman hides her beauty that she is truly breathtaking, _there's nothing more adorable than that_ , he thought.

Hinata fit in well. Noticeably, she liked to cover up a lot, but it suited her as well, or perhaps everyone's just gotten used to her covering up that it's quite fitting.

Sasuke sighed again, he was actually deep in thought because of someone like her? Shocking.

Frustrated once more, he decided to go make himself some tea. It was almost daybreak but his head was filled with too much for him to sleep so he decided to just stay up the whole way through.

The birds began to chirp and stores were opening, everyone was getting into business. He watched the busy street and wondered why everyone woke up so early today.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets like he typically would and thought of something to do. He hasn't been assigned to missions for 2 days now and he would usually complain but decided that he had better things to do and appreciating this free time wouldn't be so bad.

The sight of a guy in weird-looking glasses and a loud middle-aged man caught his attention.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY CATS ARE BETTER?! WHAT'S THE DEAL?"

He chuckled as he continued to walk in their direction, trying to see if he can listen in on the conversation. The early morning was never quiet when Kiba was up this early.

The troubled bug-user scratched his head in silence as he stared at the hound-boy. "I have something to ask of you and I know you won't listen to me unless I say something like that."

Akamaru whined as he looked down and placed his paw on his snout, in such a way that showed he was embarassed of Kiba's behavior.

 _How unusual_ , Sasuke thought. He stopped just by a dango shop and kept a safe distance while still observing the two.

"Well, it's going to be Hinata's birthday soon and I assume you didn't forget? I just thought we should do something special, like usual."

Kiba scratched his head and laughed nervously. "O-of course I haven't! Do you have anything in mind?"

The Uchiha wondered when her birthday would be, embarassed that he didn't even know of it.

The male duo of Team 8 continued to discuss their plans such as inviting everyone to the beach or treating everyone to a movie and setting up picnic, and the discussion went on until they decided to take it somewhere else.

Sasuke thought that they might notice he was eavesdropping if he followed them and decided to take the opportunity to learn about Hinata more. It honestly irked him that he didn't know enough and if he plans on doing something about this situation, he atleast ought to know more about her.

He decided that the perfect people to get advice from would now be Shikamaru, Ino, and possibly Temari, since the three had caught him off-guard previously.

 _Stupid bakery and trio had to be right there_ , he thought and cursed mentally as he made his way to the Nara residence.

Shikamaru watched the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio as they played in their garden. He reminisced about the times when he himself was a part of the trio.

He looked over at his wife and bestfriend as they gossiped and smiled.

"Hey, Sai. How'd you and Ino get together again?" He took a sip from his cup of tea as he eyed the pale man. He had always wondered about his unusual complexion before but never personally decided to question it.

He was surprised as Sai blushed, first time to see color on his pale cheeks. "W-well... I suppose it just sort of happened."

He chuckled with a nod of satisfaction, looking over at his bestfriend again. He knew that she first came to like him because he reminded her a lot of her first crush, Sasuke. Nonetheless, he was happy that his bestfriend found someone.

And not to mention that the product of their love was quite adorable like his own son. He looked across the garden once again as the children laughed and chased each other.

"Oi, Nara."

The two men turned to look at the source and found Sasuke standing awkwardly by his porch and they both stifled a laugh.

"Hey, Uchiha. What's up?" He patted the seat beside him and invited Sasuke to join them for tea. Men have to bond sometimes too, y'know.

Sasuke sat down and sighed, taking a cup of tea and chugging it down. He thought that maybe the burning feeling in his throat from the tea would help take away his nervousness.

"I k-kinda need some... girl advice."

Sasuke looked down in embarassment. Never in his life had he thought he would ever have to say those words.

Shikamaru covered his mouth and carefully swallowed. "That almost made me spit my tea, Sasuke Uchiha is capable of stuttering too?"

Sai chuckled as he agreed with Shikamaru. He never thought he would ever have the chance of seeing Sasuke like this, it really was out of character.

"Damn it, just help me, okay?" The raven-haired male bit his lip in frustration and embarassment. He knew that he shouldn't be doing this because it hurt his pride but he had to do it for the sake of being a real man.

Shikamaru smiled as he looked over at Sai and nodded. "Well, what exactly do you need to know?"

The Uchiha took a deep breath as he thought of why he was here again. "I want to know more about that Hyūga girl... I was wondering if you could help me with that."

The day seemed to get better and better by the minute as the two continued to witness a flustered Sasuke Uchiha. Not in a million years did they ever think such a side of him existed.

"There's a lot of stuff, why don't you start with the things you want to know? What is it that you don't know about her?"

Shikamaru leaned over to check on his wife and bestfriend again just to make sure that they weren't listening. He could save the poor man from any more embarassment, and especially since he considered this some serious "guy talk" that was **very** rare.

Sasuke listed out the things that were important that he was unfamiliar with and Shikamaru listed out answers.

"Her birthday's on the 27th, she has a younger sister, a deceased mother, a strict, unloving father and an overprotective cousin." Shikamaru took another sip of his tea as he waited for some reaction from the Uchiha.

Sasuke nodded and tried to memorize the details as he thought of more that he wanted to know of. But just as he spoke again, Chōji and Neji marched in.

Chōji stared at the trio and Neji smirked as he eyed the three of them as well. "We havin' a little tea party here?"

Sasuke froze on the spot as he broke out in a cold sweat. The voice of Neji sent chills down his back as he looked to Shikamaru in panic, hoping that theoverprotective cousin heard nothing of their discussion.

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck and reassured the Uchiha with a nod.

"It's very troublesome of you to just march in here, I don't mind you Chōji but, is there something you need Neji? It's very unusual of you to visit me. I don't even think you've ever visited me once."

Chōji crossed his arms and nodded, looking over at the Hyūga as he was curious about the explanation as well.

Neji looked over at the kids and smiled. "Hanabi was looking forward to seeing these kids today and she asked me to come check on them if they're okay. Are they allowed to see her today or...?"

Shikamaru, Sai, and Sasuke all sighed in relief, worried that he had some other business that was related to their pep talk.

"The kids are fine, I didn't know what time she wanted to meet them so I just gathered them all here instead and decided to wait for her to inform me on when it would be. Didn't expect you to come here though."

The behavior of the three arose suspicion from the elder male as he stared at them. Was there something wrong with him coming here? Their cautiousness certainly seemed suspicious to him. He looked over at Shikamaru who was giving a half smile, Sai who showed off his infamous fake smile, and a Sasuke who was merely staring at an empty cup, presumably his.

Neji decided to shrug it off considering it most likely isn't any of his business anyways and knowing him, he wasn't the type to pry into something, unless it was Hinata.

"Well considering I'm here now, I've decided to just come to pick them up. Are you fine with that?" Neji walked over to the kids and waved, inviting them over.

Shikamaru gave a lazy nod in response. "Well, a genius is still a genius, I can't fault you. Just be sure to have them all back here by seven thirty, alright?"

The Hyūga nodded as the three kids giggled and clinged to him and he bid them farewell, stopping by the living room to say farewell to Temari and Ino as well and took off.

Sasuke, as if he had been holding his breath the entire time, heaved another sigh of relief as he clutched his chest. "I thought he found out... he would have definitely threw fists if he heard. Who would just go around asking for personal information about his cousin?"

The pineapple-haired man shook his head with a smile. "Well, just be lucky he didn't. Anyways, is there any more you want to know?"

Hinata hummed as she ran around the kitchen, fetching ingredients, mixing here and there, heating this and that. She was pretty occupied herself as she had planned to bake 3 batch of cookies to serve to the kids and her bestfriends Kiba and Shino who promised to visit today.

Hanabi watched her sister from a seat nearby and laughed at how surprisingly good she was at multitasking. She could manage to smile and hum and run around doing all sorts of things without stopping to take a break.

She knew how strong her aneki was despite the old days where she would be disgraced by their own family. A smile made its way to her face as she remembers how much she's changed. In the end, of course her elder sister was much more powerful than her. And instead of envying her, she admired her and vowed that one day, she still plans to surpass her, despite having done so in the past.

Little footsteps rang from outside and they both turned their attention to the door as the trio welcomed themselves.

"Hinata-sama! Ohayō! Hanabi-chan, Ohayō!"

Hanabi smiled as she embraced the three kids. "You all seem energetic as always."

Neji and the two other men smiled as they leaned over the counter, observing Hinata. "Hey what are you making? It smells delicious!"

Akamaru whined and curled up by Kiba's feet, knowing that he couldn't have any of what she was preparing.

Hinata smiled as she dropped her oven mitts by the counter, they held the strong smell of delicious cookies that were sure to have them drooling. Kiba grunted as he acted tough, behaving as if the scent didn't make him hungry. But Shino and Hinata knew better than that.

Neji grinned as he recognized the scent of scrumptious chocolate chip cookies. He knew just how good Hinata was with preparing food and when it came to desserts, it's like her hands belonged to some dessert god.

Shino fixed his glasses as he looked over at the crying Kiba who was trying to comfort an upset Akamaru. He felt a little sorry for the hound, knowing he can't get to try such a delicious treat.

"G-gomenasai, Kiba-kun. I suppose I shouldn't keep you waiting any longer." Hinata retrieved her oven mitts and pulled the cookies out of the oven.

The scent of the freshly-baked cookies filled the kitchen and everyone swooned as Hinata arranged the cookies onto plates and passed them around.

Everyone passed the cookies along and shared some delightful dessert time. Hinata smiled as she observed everyone. She really did have unbelievable skills when it came to cooking.

Neji elbowed Kiba which caught Shino's attention as well. "I can't believe she only gets better and better at this stuff. How good of a wife could she become, hn?"


	4. III Faithful Meeting

The Uchiha manor has been as quiet as it can be for the past week and a half and Sasuke contemplated on what he should do.

Shino and Kiba sent out the invites for her birthday celebration yesterday and he knew that he can't just show up empty-handed.

His heart raced at the thought of staying at a resort for 3 days and especially with **her** there. He sighed once again as he slumped over the table, thinking of what to get her. The raven-haired male gave up on trying to keep his cool whenever he was alone.

He can no longer deny that he can't get the Hyūga girl out of his mind. Ever since that one encounter. Whenever he would go outside for a walk he would try his luck and see if he'll perhaps see her out on a walk as well or on another errand like the last time.

Sometimes he would even make the effort of walking past her house, hoping she'd be there. But, was still afraid of Neji. Yes, sure, he was married and everything but no matter what, it seemed like he would remain an overprotective cousin for the rest of his life.

"Guy has some sort of cousin complex for Kami's sake..." He chuckled as he remembered the one time that the Rookie 9's teams along with Team Guy went for a swim and Neji forced Hinata to swim with a long-sleeved shirt.

The clock ticked and he was even more troubled, thinking he should now get something she'd be able to use in front of Neji. You'd think a middle-aged man would be a little more mature but it seems this is his whole concept of it.

Just as he recalled past events, he decided that he could just get her something as simple as a jacket for now. Everyone knows that she seems to have a thing for them, her attire usually consisted of something that covered enough skin so she'd be comfortable and he found it quite adorable.

He decided to step outside and look for a nice one, and decided he'd have Ino tweak it for him as well. He planned to add a little something to the jacket that would embarass him and especially Hinata, if it catches anybody's attention.

* * *

Sasuke held out the jacket and nodded in satisfaction. He carried the little patch and smiled as he marched down to the Yamanaka residence.

Surely Ino would be able to help him, but he hoped that she wouldn't ask too much about the present and decided that he'd let her figure out on her own who it might be for.

All it took was a five-minute walk until he heard giggling and a grown man singing and he chuckled, giving the door a couple knocks. Shortly after, his loud friend opened the door with a smile.

"Sasuke-kun! What can I help you with?" The male stepped inside, careful to take his shoes off as he handed the paper bag to Ino.

"Can you perhaps sew this crest onto the back of this jacket?" He took out the crest and showed her the jacket, nothing's too complicated for her. He figured that she'd be terrific at sewing, like you would think.

She raised an eyebrow as she carefully eyed Sasuke, giggling but nodding as she happily took the jacket and got to work. "Hey, isn't this a woman's jacket?"

And instantly, Sasuke was right fearing that such a question would come up. He rolled his eyes, avoiding the question and asking how their son and Sai were doing.

Ino shook her head with a smile, explaining how things have been recently. She thought to herself as she sewed on the crest. It looked awfully familiar but at the same time she wasn't sure where she'd seen it before. She thought about who this could be for, hoping that it was for someone special so that she could tease him for it.

Soon enough after chatting, the jacket was done and the blonde held it proudly, smirking at the Uchiha. "I'm pretty darn good, aren't I?"

Sasuke took the jacket and inspected her work and she was right, she was pretty good. The crest was sewn neatly to the back but thanks to the hood, if Hinata doesn't use it, the crest won't be visible.

"Oi, Sasuke-kun. What's that crest by the way?"

The raven-haired male scratched his head, unsure of whether he should explain it or not. But reconsidering it since she was a close friend after all, he cleared his throat. "It's um... the Uchiha crest fused with another noble clan's crest."

Ino looked at the crest again and tried to think of where she'd seen the other symbol, and when she realized it, she threw the jacket back at Sasuke while blushing. "Y-you..!"

Sasuke raised his hands in defeat but decided to say no more as he waved goodbye. She was sure to say something about it the next time they meet and he had hoped that that "next time" would be on the day of her birthday.

He looked at the crest with a smile. _One day_ , he thought to himself. _One day._

* * *

She gently ran her hands through her soft dark blue hair as she listened to little Shikadai complain about his Uncle Gaara. "Mama loves him and she says that she and Kankuro-Ojisan liked to tease him a lot because he had crushies on this woman."

Hinata giggled as she wondered who this woman was the Kazekage had "crushies" on. "Do you talk to your Uncle Gaara a lot?"

Shikadai shook his head with a pout, resting his chin on his palm as he tapped on the desk. "He rarely comes over because he has so much work to do and then he wonders why I like Kankuro-Ojisan more..."

She gently rubbed her temple as she played with the young boy's hair, explaining why Gaara had to be busy with work. "Your Gaara-Ojisan can't help but be busy. He's a really cool guy, you know, he helped Konoha a lot in the past, with thanks to the help of the Seventh as well. I promise you that if he had more time on his hands, he would be spending a lot of time with you."

The young boy still couldn't help but sulk, he was always interested in his mother's youngest brother because he'd heard countless stories about the three Sand siblings that consisted of his mother and his two awesome uncles.

But despite his status of Kage, Gaara often visited Konoha whenever he had the time to. Hinata was still surprised with the drastic change he had undergone but everyone was also thankful for it. Had it not been for Konoha's boy of miracles, who knows what would have happened to Gaara?

Little Shikadai started to hum until he was interrupted by a knock on the door. They both looked towards the guest and it seemed to be none other than his father. Hinata smiled and nodded as she collected Shikadai's stuff to give to his father.

"Did he behave today?" He ruffled his son's hair, which caused him to frown.

"Yeah, he had a lot of fun. I have boxed cookies in his bag too, you guys feel free to enjoy some as well." Hinata gave Shikamaru the bag and bowed her head in respect. The male chuckled and gently pat her on the back before saying farewell with his son.

The Hyūga smiled as she thought of the redhead once again. "I wonder how Gaara-kun's doing..."

* * *

The stars seemed to be his only companions tonight as he rest his head on his arms, watching them. The date of the celebration grew closer as he waited around with absolutely nothing to do.

Tonight's breeze made him shiver as he folded the blanket and snuggled into it.

"It's ten o'clock what am I doing out here..." he whispered to himself as he tried to sing, a little successful but even he can barely himself. He just didn't know what to do, he could go home and watch but he was too lazy to get off the grass and walk all the way back home.

"Sasuke-san...?" He looked up to see who called out to him and froze as she flashed her infamous smile. She slowly walked towards him, eventually to sit beside him. "Won't you be all cold out here?"

Sasuke couldn't help but stare into her eyes again, there was just something about them that he can't quite explain. "Oh... um... I didn't have much to do at home so I just decided to stargaze."

A soft chuckle was heard and she carefully put down the paperbag as she watched the stars as well. The Uchiha cleared his throat as an army marched in his chest, trying to focus back on the stars.

"What are you doing here late out at night too, wouldn't **you** be cold?"

She shook her head as she looked at the bag of chocolates she was carrying. Neji had asked her to go get chocolate that they could just, binge on whenever they felt like it and she gladly took up the task. Hinata looked around at the empty park as she got up and grabbed her bag.

"Though it isn't exactly cold for me, it seems to be the case for you. It's getting pretty late and I have to get some stuff back home. Would you like me to walk home with you, Sasuke-san?"

Sasuke got up after her, folding up the blanket neatly as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarassment. "Shouldn't that be my line? Besides, I'm pretty sure from this route to the right your house is closer than mine so I might as well walk you home."

She bowed and said thank you as she waited for Sasuke to start walking.

After testing his luck for awhile it seems that waiting finally paid off. For one part he was a little thankful he was walking ahead because he could conceal the pink tint on his cheeks for a bit but he gradually slowed down, walking side by side with her since, well, he **was** walking **her** home anyways.

He casually asked about her day and thankfully got to chat with her, the distance to her house was perfect that it just ended right as they were by her front door. He made sure that she atleast got inside safe before he bid farewell to head home himself.

He remembered the jacket he got back home and grinned at his excitement as again, the date of the celebration grew closer.

* * *

Neji was waiting patiently in the kitchen with his arms folded. He wondered what could have happened that resulted in Sasuke walking his cousin home. Even he sighed at himself at the overprotective behavior but he couldn't help it.

She happily stepped into the kitchen, setting down the bag and setting aside the stuff she bought, whilst feeling her cousin's gaze pierce her back.

"Onīsan, I'd be glad to hear you out."

Neji flinched as he averted his gaze from her, clearing his throat. "What were you doing with the Uchiha?"

Hinata smiled, she knew he would ask about it and she grabbed a chocoate bar, tossing it to Neji. "I just happened to run into him on the way back from some chocolate shopping."

He caught the chocolate bar and playfully glared at her. "Mhm, ran into him huh?"

Hinata gently rubbed her temple as she grinned at Neji. "What's with the tone of voice? Are you alright, Onisan?"

Neji shook his head in disbelief as he leaned over the kitchen counter in shame. Why was he behaving this way? What could be so bad about Sasuke Uchiha? He had so many answers to that, recalling everything that Sasuke has done what with his criminal record and all.

But he was also aware that everyone's put that in the past and Sasuke has changed greatly since then.

Hinata gently patted Neji's back as he sulked like a child. _He always does this_... she snickered as she pointed to the chocolate bar. "You may be forgetting what I got those for. Turn that frown upside down with some sweetness."

The older male looked over at her and back to the chocolate bar. Speaking honestly, her smile was already sweet enough to turn any frown into a sparkling smile but he would never admit to that.

As they enjoyed the comfortable silence, it was soon broken by Hanabi as she dug into the bag to look for her share. "Neji-nii are you alright?"

The sisters laughed as they tried to comfort a grumpy Neji who carelessly shoved the chocolate in his face.

Meanwhile in the living room was Hiashi, who was listening to everything. A small smile formed on his lips as he looked over at their old family portrait. He recalled the times he had disgraced Hinata, and changing the heiress to Hanabi. He knew that he was wrong, especially as a father. He realized he didn't try hard enough, he failed acknowledge his daughter properly.

But deep in thought, Hiashi was thankful that there were other people that made up for his shortcomings. Her friends, Neji, her sister, Ko, Kurenai and everyone else who believed in her and helped her.

He looked back at the kitchen and watched all three of them laugh and smiled before taking his cup of tea and walking quietly upstairs for a good night's sleep.


	5. IV Feelings

He groaned as the alarm went off, looking at the time; **4:50 AM**.

He hastily got up as he remembered that he had to get ready. The date read December 27th, which was the date of her birthday. Today was when the whole "going to the resort" plan started and Sasuke rushed to pack up what he needed.

He opened his window and looked over at the main gate and it seems a couple people have already gathered there. His heart raced in anticipation as he added the gift he had set aside in the luggage, leaving to join up with the others.

It was a great idea leaving early it seemed, nobody was awake except for their circle of friends, two old geezers and the sisterly figure caught in between, who they decided to tag along.

As he arrived at the main gate, he looked around at who was present, Shino, Kiba, Tamaki, Ino, Sai, Chōji, Karui, Shikamaru, Temari, Kankurō, Sakura, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Kakashi, Takane, Yamato, and the birthday girl herself.

He looked around once more wondering where his loud blond besfriend could be and just as he was about to ask, Naruto dashed towards the group while munching on toast and carrying more bags.

Shino stepped up to check if everyone was present then proceeded to explain the plan. There's a resort in the Land of Hot Water that they checked out weeks before and decided that it was perfect for a 3-day stay.

Sasuke glanced at her from time to time as all the girls huddled up to talk while Shikamaru approached him.

"Hey bachelor, how you holdin' up?" the raven-haired male responded with a shrug as he seemed to notice that he was starting to stare at her, which caused Sai and Kiba to join the two of them.

Kiba looked at Sasuke, then Hinata, and back to Sasuke as a smirk formed on his lips. His fangs exposed had only ever meant trouble for anyone and the Uchiha reached out to cover his mouth before he could say anything.

Shikamaru crossed his arms with a satisfied look as he and Sai looked at the girls. Shikamaru knew well that what Sasuke was going through needed time and it that it had to be kept a secret so he atleast promised to keep quiet about it, as with his wife and best friend but hoping they'd be able to keep it as well as he does, knowing how women seem to have the tendecy to tell each other everything.

He sighed at the thought, wondering about what women really talked to each other about and if so, hoped that his blonde best friend wasn't the type to share too much with her friends.

Kiba continued to struggle, mumbling and threatening the Uchiha that he will not hesitate to bite him, or get Akamaru to do so if he doesn't let go. The raven-haired male glared in response as best he can, warning him of what he could do if he says something he shouldn't.

He waved both arms in defeat, waiting for his release and leaning against the wall to catch his breath while Akamaru whined and nuzzled him.

The sound of clapping then caught everyone's attention as Kakashi checked once more to see if anyone was absent and when all was ready, led the way to their route.

The three decided to stick by Sasuke and just chat around until they get to their first destination. It seems that it's going to take awhile but the whole 3-day stay really did sound appealing and all the more worth it.

The girls surrounded Hinata and giggled every now and then, behavior that seemed to frustrate Kiba. "Goddamn females always talking about weird shit, I don't get it, aren't there some things you're just _never_ supposed to share? _Anything_ at all?!"

Sasuke stared in confusion as the two other men patted Kiba's back to assure him. "Come on now, are you really doubting Tamaki? I doubt she'd share anything confidential."

But just as Shikamaru tried to calm him with what were petty words to the hound boy, Sakura and Ino turned to look at Kiba while blushing and stifling laughter.

"THAT DARING LITTLE BITCH, DUDE-" Surprisingly, Sai was the one to rush and cover his mouth before he could say any more. Tamaki turned around and glared at Kiba, an action which strangely enough caused the brunet's face to redden.

He sighed in relief as he gave Kiba a strange look. Was that his special nickname for her? If so, he found the relationship weird despite him and his wife having the similar situation. "What the hell, it's the term for a female dog, she absolutely loves it when I call her that."

Shikamaru chuckled as he observed his quiet wife. He wasn't sure if she had any issues since she seemed to get along well with Konohagakure's kunoichi especially back when Konoha and Suna's alliance had been solidified. She has been and will always be a part of the Hidden Leaf, he thought. She merely looked at the others and laughed once in awhile.

If there was any one of them who trusts their wife the most, he was thinking he'd be that guy. His wife had always been such an audacious, sometimes brutal and a horribly honest woman that he had come to fall in love with.

He looked at Naruto who happily observed his wife as well. The whole Naruto-and-Sakura thing surprised him, knowing about their whole situation. Sakura and the whole Sasuke thing and Hinata with the whole Naruto situation. But in the end, the blond man was indeed, oblivious after all. But surprisingly, he was one who never got upset with him. Not that he had any reason to anyways. He was happy for their cheerful hero who has saved him and everyone more than once, or twice, and they knew they could never fully repay him for everything he's done.

But as happy as he was that Naruto had finally gotten his dream woman, he was also saddened for the Hyūga upon finding out how heartbroken she was. Hinata was horribly out of character and after realizing that she can't hang on to Naruto forever, she lost herself and finally... gave up. Stuttering was no longer a habit, her finger gestures were no longer present, and she wasn't as easily flustered as she used to.

Her best friends and former team mates were saddened at the drastic change but were simply glad she was somehow still the Hinata they'd always loved. Shikamaru thought to himself, what really suddenly, was the actual reason why Sasuke is infatuated with this girl? She has always been around before his rogue-nin days but he never payed attention to her.

She was a part of the same Rookie 9 that they'd been in. She was very active and present in the Fourth Shinobi World War, and he was sure that Sasuke was aware that she was a part of the same four noble clans of Konoha as he was.

Why all of a sudden did he have feelings for her? Shikamaru knew it was wrong but the first thing that came to mind was desperation. Was Sasuke truly desperate to love someone that it just so happened to be the Hyūga that caught his attention? After thinking it through, he decided to drop it and move on to something more logical. He believed Sasuke wouldn't stoop so low, he atleast thought he knew the Uchiha much better than that.

Hinata really was undeniably beautiful so he cannot blame Sasuke if that was one reason as to why. Then he moved on to the whole personality thing. Could he perhaps not paid as much attention to her because her shy behavior didn't sit well with him? He considered the whole change that happened with her and wondered if...

Now that she was a different, braver Hinata, was she more appealing to him?

He fought with his mind, trying to settle for an answer until it drifted to Hinata. What does she even think of Sasuke? Before, she had helped a lot and tried her best to bring Sasuke back as well but only for the sake of Naruto, knowing how important the Uchiha was to him. He also thought about how she had mostly known Sasuke as an S-Rank missing-nin who Sakura loved greatly, like she did for the blond man.

He looked over at Sasuke, Kiba, and Sai, who were now accompanied by Naruto and Shino. As much as he didn't like to admit it, he wanted to help Sasuke, to see what could come out of this situation. After all, he is Shikamaru Nara, son of one of the greatest minds of Konoha, much like himself, Shikaku. He looked up at the sky as he thought about all the times he was hailed as a great tactitian and wondered, will he be able to help in this case, a man with his fate in love?

* * *

The guys dropped their bags and ran to the benches, drenched in sweat as the majority felt the fatigue kick in. They would have atleast two stops at luxurious inns before actually getting to the grand resort.

"All that walking makes me want to just magically float all the way to the resort, when are we gonna get there?"

Kakashi looked at the time as he was carrying the bags inside for them to check in. "It'll be about 10 more hours until we get to the next inn and after that, 6 hours to the resort."

Everyone marched inside, excited for the hot springs.

"This damn resort better be worth it or I'm gonna go eat dogs."

Shino stopped in his tracks as he looked over at his best friend. "I believe that is impossible for you. Why? Because I can guarantee you will feel like you are eating your own kind."

Kiba grabbed Shino by his collar and glared at him as he grew flustered. "Why do you have to comment about every damn thing and drive me into a corner every damn time?!"

Tamaki quietly walked over to the two and carried Akamaru, nodding as he proceeded to bite Kiba's shoulder.

He whined loudly, glaring at his girlfriend and long-time partner. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR AKAMARU?!"

Akamaru growled in response as he tugged on Kiba's pants as to drag him to their room. Kiba sighed in defeat, but still upset with the fellow. "Don't you think I'm done with you Shino, you're gonna pay for all of this."

Shino maintained the same stoic expression all throughout Kiba's supposed lecture as he quietly marched into the room he was assigned and Naruto, though forgetful when it came to Shino, adored the fact that he could be so _cool_.

Sasuke looked at the list and he would be sharing a room with Kakashi, Yamato, Naruto and Shikamaru.

The group first helped the ladies carry their luggage to the room before heading out for the hotsprings altogether.

Yamato and Kakashi immediately sunk in and relaxed in the hot spring, with Yamato's head hung back and Kakashi making sure that the towel covering the lower half of his face was secure.

Sasuke settled at the very edge of the spring, gazing at Shikamaru and the two "old geezers" as Naruto got in with a belly flop, his towel falling from his waist just right before getting into the water. The other four cringed at the sight, meanwhile stifling laughter as Naruto shook in pain.

There was an awkard silence between the men until giggling could be heard on the other side of spring, and all five of them looked up at the wooden wall that separated them from the ladies.

"Well isn't that great, they're all having some female fun."

Naruto grinned mischievously as he got up and pressed his face against the wall, checking if he can see anything through a small gap.

Kakashi tried to warn him about his wife who was a disciple of the legendary kunoichi, their dear Fifth. Naruto rolled his eyes in confidence of accomplishing his task unnoticed.

Sasuke moved to Naruto and grabbed his ankle, pulling him back into the water. Shikamaru already knew why he'd done so. They were all well aware that of course, he should already be familiar with his wife in a similar state by now, ( _A/n: Clearly has the image burned into his memory, hn._ ) even aware of just how deadly she can be, so why was he peeping?

The dark haired man ruffled his medium-length black hair as he looked at the expression that graced Sasuke's facial features. _Worried about his fair maiden it seems_...

Naruto grunted, mumbling curses as he gave up and glared at Sasuke while begging Kakashi to help him. As much as the silver-haired man wanted to, he wasn't sure he was ready to see his lady friend's bare body with the trickling water. The very thought flustered him and he did not hesitate to deny Naruto's request.

The raven-haired male wrapped the towel around his waist as he got up, waving off the four as he decided to rest up in their room. As he walked to the change rooms he came across what he least expected.

Hinata stood frozen, just as he had. They both stared at each other in surprise and his mind raced as he tried to fight the desire of his eyes wandering aimlessly which probably wasn't such a great idea, he thought.

Meanwhile she was also deeply flustered as her eyes tried to resist wandering on his toned muscles, his chest and everything else dripping with water.

Sasuke decided he'd be the one to break the ice as he cleared his throat, averting his gaze before he cooks up an image he'd regret recalling upon the sight of her. "Was the spring refreshing?"

She looked down at her feet, still flustered as she could only manage a nod. "I-is the spring on your side good as well?"

It's been awhile since he last heard her stutter and he wondered if he made her uncomfortable, what with the noticeable tension in her voice. "Hn."

He walked past her, grabbing a robe the inn usually offered for himself and one for her as well. "If the hot spring wasn't enough, take this and warm up. I was told there was food down the main hall. Would you mind joining me for a meal?"

"H-hai." Shyly taking the robe from him, she looked back at the basket that contained her regular clothes and contemplated if she should just settle with that instead of the robe. But as she held it close to her body that was in nothing but a mere towel, she realized the robes were warmed up for that very purpose.

She bowed in respect before excusing herself and heading to the ladies' room to change.

What she didn't see was the Sasuke that was overwhelmed with feelings. He covered his face as he reddened and he knew he had to make sure no one saw him in this state as he walked off to go change as well.


	6. V Tension

The morning after was awfully quiet, everyone really does seem to be exhausted from the whole walk. And to think they have to do that for 16 more hours...

Though they could all use tons other methods to get to the resort, Hinata had specifically requested that they walk. And that way, they all get to spend as much time as they want with each other, just talking and laughing like old times.

Shikamaru looked out the window, watching the clouds like he usually would. He would hear shifting every now and then and Naruto's occasionally disturbing snoring. _How Sakura can ever live with that I'll never know_...

"Sakura-chan stop... it hurts~" Naruto rolled over and mewled, wrapping his arms around a sleeping Sasuke. His eyes shot open as he punched Naruto, sending him across the room which startled Kakashi, Yamato, and their friends in the next room.

Shikamaru stared at the mess, eye twitching and looking at the upset raven-haired male. "Uh... S-Sasuke..?"

He turned around at the mention of his name, sharingan activated, glaring at Shikamaru which caused him to back up against the wall. "H-HEY NOW, WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?"

Yamato set his hand on the floor to prepare for a technique as Kakashi tried to calm a whimpering Naruto.

"Naru...to..." the Uchiha got up, grumbling as he made his way towards the Silver Fox and his blond best friend. "Are you hurt... scaredy cat?"

The door swung open, revealing worried wives as they looked around the room. Naruto ran in his wife's arms, sobbing and childishly clinging onto her. "SAKURA-CHAN WHY'D SASUKE PUNCH ME?!"

Temari walked over to her frozen husband, rubbing his back and asking what the loud noise was. Shikamaru pointed to Sasuke and Naruto's bruised cheek.

"What's with the commotion... he disturbed me in fantasy land and it's just a reflex." the Uchiha sighed as he smacked Naruto upside the head, completely ignorant of his previous action that threw everyone off.

The atmosphere was utterly heavy and confusion was clear on their faces as they stared at Sasuke. The silence enveloped them, everyone frozen in place.

The clock ticked, the only thing present to remind them that time wasn't frozen, though their other companions came to break the ice.

Kiba, Hinata, and Shino looked into the room, calling everyone for breakfast. Sasuke's eyes were locked on her figure again, like he always would upon the sight of her. Sakura quietly led Naruto away with Shikamaru, Temari, and Yamato off to follow them all to the dining hall, leaving Kakashi and Sasuke. The silver-haired man observed his former student as he stared out the hall.

"Oi, Sasuke. You alright?"

The raven-haired male nodded, fixing his robe and heading out to follow everyone as well. Kakashi knew that something's been up lately. Sasuke has been quiet like he usually would and awfully awkward other times as well. Not once in his life has he ever seen him like that and the odd behavior made him question things. He then thought that the best he could do was wait for more signs that could possibly confirm what was up.

He quietly followed Sasuke to the dining hall, where everyone was gathered. He noticed the younger male was distracted. How so? Everyone happily ate, continuously stuffing food in their mouths while Sasuke stared at his chopsticks. He decided then that the least he could do now was probably ask and see if he could help.

Kakashi gently nudged Sasuke, "Something bothering you?"

A little panicked that maybe he had seen him staring at _her_ at one point, his face reddened slightly, something that threw Kakashi off guard. His one visible eye widened, waiting for the fellow to speak up. It's been awhile since he had seen an adult blush like so. Well, Sasuke in this case.

The action reminded Kakashi of Make Out Tactics as he began to blush himself. The lady that had caught his heart was sitting right beside him, something that he has only realized while figuring that Sasuke was in the same case... flustered because of a woman perhaps?

But deeply embarassed that he has showed such emotion in front of anybody, _especially_ Kakashi, Sasuke thought that maybe eating and ignoring him will do the trick of getting it off his mind. But such a brilliant shinobi like him couldn't possibly forget such a detail.

Takane looked at Kakashi, nudging him to break his train of thought. "Oi, Silver. The food's not gonna wait forever."

He laughed nervously in response, hoping that his mask was concealing his red cheeks properly. She sighed at his unusual behavior but looked over at the Uchiha from over her shoulder, wondering what the boy was so occupied with just as Kakashi was.

* * *

Naruto kissed the pink-haired female's forehead before heading off to the field at the back of the inn. Strangely enough there were training dummies and a lake to soak in that was hidden behind trees.

He jogged across the field, looking for the cherry blossom necklace that his wife had dropped earlier. Knowing him, he usually took advantage of whatever he can in these kind of situations; Kage Bunshin. But just as he was about to summon clones, the leaves rustled, feet tapped, and he immediately grabbed a kunai from his pocket, facing the direction where the rustling and faint footsteps could be heard.

Soon enough, a relatively tall figure came out from behind the trees and it was none other than his good brother-from-another-mother, Sasuke.

He sighed in relief, putting the kunai away as he invited the raven-haired male for help.

"What are you looking for?" the Uchiha sighed and moved to where Naruto was, who frantically searched behind rocks, in the grass, and along the trees.

Naruto described the necklace and most importantly the unique pendant as best he can, begging Sasuke to help so he can find it more quickly. He merely nodded and started looking, a little far from Naruto just so they could cover more areas and possibly see it sooner.

The blond man cursed as he thought of calling Neji or Hinata for help given the ability of their Dōjutsu. But before he even got the chance to do so, Sasuke quietly tapped on his shoulder, holding out the cherry blossom necklace he'd been looking for.

"But of course, you'd be the one to find it." He sighed in relief and disappointment, grabbing Sasuke's hand while quietly mumbling a 'thank you', embarassed that once again, Sasuke beat him at something.

 _Hn, dobe_. The Uchiha roughly grabbed his best friend's jacket by the collar, dragging him to the inn and back to Sakura. "Here's the idiot you ordered."

Their cherry blossom lady friend giggled as she happily retrieved the necklace, planting a kiss on her husband's cheek before inviting the two of them to come sit down. "So how've you been, Sasuke-kun?"

He simply grunted in response, looking out the window. The sound of a squeak caught his attention, and he saw her hanging from the branch of a tree with her jacket caught onto something. The sight of her panicking made him smile as he jumped out the window to go help her. "Of all people, _you_ get stuck on something like that? Whatever happened to the Hyūga's magnificent dōjutsu?"

Her face reddened which she immediately tried so hard to cover as she continued to hang from the branch. The Uchiha sighed and carefully helped her off the tree, checking her foot. "S-Sasuke-san, that hurts!"

"Sprained ankle huh... get on my back." After offering a bit of support, he proceeded to kneel a bit in front of her while gently pulling her onto his back. His behavior surprised her, it was only the second time she'd ever seen Sasuke like this. When everyone was much younger, when his clan was still complete, Sasuke was just as gentle and caring like he was right now.

She quietly rested on his back, her face against the back of his neck while weakly holding on to his shoulders. Her warm breath on his back delivered the same foreign feeling as the time at the bakery, where everything about her made it difficult to breathe, difficult to look away from...

His heart beat furiously in his chest, which wasn't good for him considering that _she_ would be able to hear it if it doesn't slow down. Taking deep breaths, he decided he'd distract her with his breathing.

"Sasuke-san... Thank you."

His face reddened at her quiet voice but nonetheless nodding to acknowledge her greeting as he took her back to the inn.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura watched their best friend help Hinata and carry her on his back from the window he'd jumped out of. Naruto watched with wide eyes while Sakura chewed on her lip in curiosity. The two decided to head down to the front to catch them and question the course of actions.

"Hinata, are you okay?" the Hyūga nodded in response as she politely asked Sasuke to let her down.

But, instead of doing so, he walked past the couple without another word as he helped her to the room she shared with the other females. Ino and Temari were present, surprised to see the two together, and more than anything, surprised to see Hinata being carried by Sasuke.

He carefully let her down, setting her on a chair that was beside Ino. "She's got a sprained ankle."

Ino stared at Hinata's foot, unsure of what to do. Her mind was still focused on the previous sight, Hinata being _carried_ by her good friend here. Suddenly she remembered the fused crest that she sewed on by the request of Sasuke and grew flustered, "O-oh right!"

Temari stared at the three in confusion while Sasuke looked out the hall to hide his reddened face as well. Mumbling to himself as he too recalled the crest, Ino must of course already know that the "present" was for none other than Hinata.

Ino giggled as she healed Hinata's foot, looking up to observe the female's facial expression. She was flustered of course, Ino and Temari had just seen her with Sasuke and she had a good idea of what they were thinking. But little did she know that they've been a part of it all from the start.

Sasuke cleared his throat and excused himself, saying he'll be back for her when she's healed, which flustered Hinata even more, and which excited the two other women there with her.

* * *

The air outside was fresh and cool, and he told himself that this cool breeze was sure to cool even his burning face down. He really had nothing to be embarassed about in front of the two blonde women, they've been a part of the secret since day one. But Hinata was there, and she was still this girl that made him feel weird. It would always feel "disgustingly pleasant" in his gut, he once told Shikamaru.

He recalled what happened when they came back. Naruto and Sakura were there and they were questioning his actions. He felt a little bad that they weren't the ones he'd told first, but he couldn't afford to get it out now, and he had especially tried so hard to avoid the likes of Ino and Sakura, ones who loved to gossip.

So far, his blonde female friend hasn't seemed to have said anything to Hinata or anyone else and he felt good about that. He wanted to tell atleast one of them, possibly Naruto, reluctantly Sakura...

He took a small stone that sat by his feet as he gave it more thought. Should he just wait for them to figure it out? But it could possibly hurt them even more if they found out while he's been taking action for a while.

 _Taking action_...?

He ran his hands in his deep black and surprisingly soft locks in frustration. He didn't sound like himself anymore lately and he wasn't sure if it was a good thing.

"Your maiden's foot is nursed back to condition, I think she's all ready for you."

Sasuke harshly glared at the brunet as he got up, dragging him along back to the room. "Temari. Why does your husband have to say such-"

Hinata stared intently at Sasuke, who was squeezing Shikamaru's wrist in what looked like such a horrible way.

He noticed this of course and cleared his throat, directing a question to Ino, looking past the dark-haired female. The blonde tossed some bandages and ointment to him, pointing to Hinata's ankle. She blushed, gently massaging her foot.

The raven-haired male gently took her arm and wrapped it around his shoulder, leading her back to her room.

"What were you doing up in a damned tree anyways?" Her cheeks still held a pink hue as she tried to explain saving a cat but didn't succeed in doing so. Sasuke pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her into a bridal style position as he carefully laid out her fragile figure on the prepared bed.

She was so confused... flustered, slightly afraid... wondering why of all people, _Sasuke Uchiha_ was helping her and all for a sprained ankle. She knew she could manage something so petty and the thought of being belittled upset her. "Sasuke-san... do I really seem so weak to you..?"

He looked up from the bandages he was delicately wrapping around her red ankle, a frown unusually graced her gentle features. He raised a brow in question, and she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I can manage a simple sprained ankle, are you helping me because you think I'm weak?"

The remark came as a surprise to him. He knew she thought of herself as a strong individual, why would she think he would help with such a reason? It occured to him that she didn't know he was doing this out of some kind of... romantic feelings... and he silently thanked Kami that she was oblivious. _Atleast for now_.

"You can't help but want to help such seemingly fragile beings right? Why did _you_ want to save the cat? They usually like it in high places and I'm sure it wouldn't have gotten there at the top of that tree if it was so terrified and helpless."

She fell silent at his answer, deeply embarassed at her previous judgement. He was right indeed. But could he blame her for suspecting? She always knew that Sasuke seemed to despise people who were weak, and she didn't want to be in that position. "G-Gomen..."

He smiled and put the bandages by her bed. "Get some rest. We'll be walking for awhile soon, do you want to be carried for 10 hours?"

The Hyūga shook her head, bowing and apologizing once more as before settling beneath the sheets.

Sasuke observed her for a short while, hearing her soft and steady breathing and quietly shutting the door.

* * *

Naruto walked around the inn, looking for a certain "duckbutt-headed" man that he had so many questions for. Even he wasn't oblivious enough to think that perhaps Sasuke was a little too close to Hinata earlier.

He spotted his target down the hall, scurrying after him and roughly grabbing his shoulders when he caught up. "Sasuke I have something to ask you."

The Uchiha shook his head, he already knew what he was going to say and while he sat by Hinata earlier, he had decided that he would keep his little secret for now.

"Oi, what's up with you and Hinata huh?" His eyebrows danced in curiosity as he wore a childish grin, nudging Sasuke who was now heading to the springs. The raven-haired remained silent, quietly entering the springs where Shino, Chōji and Lee seemed to be.

Naruto grabbed his arm and whispered, still persistent with the matter. Sasuke roughly pulled his arm out of his grasp, taking off his shirt and staring at the blond. He was silenced by this, rolling his eyes and gritting his teeth. _Psh_... _show off_.

"And you were saying?" the dark-haired man proceeded to grab his pants, still staring at the blond. Naruto was unfazed, however, and asked the question once more.

Sasuke sighed and grabbed a towel, placing it over his shoulder while nodding. "Mhm, sure. Whatever it is you're thinking, the answer shall be yes."

And with that, he marched off further into the springs while Naruto stared at his figure that gradually disappeared into the hot springs.

His ocean blue eyes wavered. He wasn't sure if Sasuke had meant it, but to his shock, he didn't feel too good about his answer. Sasuke does? He likes _her..?_


	7. VI Unique

Regrettably, they had all decided last night that the next morning would be best for their departure.

Hinata's ankle felt much better after a good night's sleep and earlier she looked for Sasuke to say thank you, and that she was planning on thanking him later. Her words had flustered him of course, wondering why she would go as far as have some other means of thanking him rather than her kind words that were already more than enough for him.

Kakashi wasn't in great shape, on the other hand. Yamato and Takane were forced to help the silver-haired man for about half of the trip to the second inn.

It had been hours since they left the last inn, just two more and one last good night's sleep and they're saved.

Luckily, it didn't seem like it was going to rain anytime soon, which was good for them. Meaning they'd be able to get to their destination faster.

* * *

9 hours later and they all stood before the huge resort they longed for.

"You'll be relieved of all the stress for awhile here."

They all turned to the husky, familiar voice. Their redhead friend smiled with his arms crossed, welcoming them all into the resort.

"Eh? G-Gaara-kun?"

Hinata and everyone else stared in surprise, including the two other sand siblings as Gaara hushed them into the resort with the personnel taking their luggage and leading them inside.

The resort was absolutely breathtaking, the lobby in itself was gorgeous and they could not wait to see their rooms.

Kiba and Shino talked to Gaara and other people in charge to get the keys to everyone's respective rooms.

"Wow this is... fantastic."

Neji and Lee wandered the halls quietly, looking at the rooms and wondering which one they were assigned to.

Seeing everyone's excitement, Kiba and Shino distributed the keys and asked everyone to settle in for a bit then head down outside and take in the view.

* * *

Neji, Tenten, Chōji, Lee, and Karui looked at the large room that had three other separate bedrooms inside. There was a small kitchen at the back and a luxurious display in what would be a living room.

Lee wasted no time in checking one of the bedrooms to claim it for himself and TenTen, which caused the other couple and Neji to come check out their rooms as well.

The rooms were quite nice. They had a natural resort and seaside feel and the beds were dangerously cozy as well.

Neji excused himself from the group and locked himself in his room, staring at the ceiling as he thought aloud.

During their last walk, Sakura and Naruto came up to him and asked if Hinata had been sick or if he was aware that she was hurt. Knowing Neji, he had overreacted and bombarded questions. Nobody exactly knew what it was, but after learning about destinies from Naruto, he no longer hated the main family of the Hyūga clan and also almost immediately grew overprotective of Hinata.

He was then told about the Sasuke and Hinata incident, which has been on his mind ever since. He was sure that he didn't mind anything, considering that he even has to thank Sasuke for taking care of her since he himself wasn't present to do so.

But while deep in thought, Neji also recalled the time where Sasuke walked Hinata home relatively late at night. The Uchiha wasn't as bad as anyone thought so, of course. Though despite that, people were still suspicious of his behavior, given the previous circumstances and everything about his past self.

He knew that Hinata was strong enough to protect herself if anybody were to try anything funny, but Sasuke Uchiha was no ordinary man. Now of course everyone then knew that possibly none of them would be a match for him, with the exception of Naruto.

He continued to recall more and more incidents until he was interrupted by Tenten and Lee, who are apparently being called down to the lobby by the honorable Kazekage. None of them still knew what he was doing here, considering he might have a lot of business back in the Sand.

Gaara waited for every single one of them to gather in the lobby to explain everything about the resort. It seems that, long ago, someone from the Land of Hot Water sent a letter to the Kazekage, asking about the Sand Village's condition and how it can be incredibly hot and dry, later offering the Kazekage to come and try to manage a resort once in awhile.

The redhead man was surprisingly happy, and here he is. As luck would have it, his schedule of getting a short break from his Kage workload, _like Naruto_ , landed on the date of their 3-day stay.

"I apologize if you were settling quite nicely in your rooms but I would just like to get this done and over with so that you can all enjoy the rest of the day." Two assistants stood on either side of Gaara, prompting their guests to make themselves comfortable on the soft couches.

" and booked this resort specially for ūga for what would be a 3-day-3-night stay. I hope you are all fine with that." They nodded quietly in approval, urging him on.

"I'm sure you were all surprised to find me here, even Kankurō and Temari, but I'm here to serve you during your stay and possibly join you as well. If you haven't seen it, there is a beach out west from here, pools straight outside of this building, an entertainment hall to the left of this facility and a bar down to the right. If there's anything you will be needing, you may find me here or somewhere else within the locations I had named-"

Naruto raised his hand, silencing the red-haired man with a question. "Is the beach closed off or will we have to worry about too much there?"

"- and I'll be happy to help you. To answer your question, it's closed off, considering it's a fine, private resort. You'll be sure to be safe and enjoy your stay. Thank you for listening."

Gaara walked away quietly with the resort personnel, and they all looked at Naruto, stifling laughter. "HEY IT WAS A SERIOUS QUESTION GUYS!"

* * *

After an hour of settling, snacking, and changing, everyone gathered at the beach with floaties, foldable benches and even more food.

The women were gathered by the umbrella, teasing Hinata about her current outfit. All the other females wore their respective swimwear, with their husbands and boyfriends more than happy to ogle.

While they wore their proper swimming attire, meanwhile Hinata was...

Well, Hinata.

She wore a Lavender shirt along with black nylon shorts, in contrast to what her friends brought up. Hinata's face burned in embarassment as they cheered her on to take off the "extra"clothing and go with her prepared bikini underneath.

Yamato, Shino, Kankurō, Neji, Sasuke, and Kakashi watched in disbelief as all the other guys began to cheer her on as well. But soon after seeing that Hinata really was reluctant to go with anything else, the females just decided to go on ahead and wait for Hinata to get comfortable.

She stood awkwardly at the side, watching her friends play like kids, throwing each other around in the cool water. Seeing them having fun was enough to make her day, she didn't think they'd enjoy it this much, and even more so when they had pretty much just arrived.

Sasuke observed her with a smile, a little glad that she stuck to herself and carried on her usual fashion sense. She looked astounding no matter what she was in anyways, whether it be something that highlighted her certain features or anything that completely concealed her.

He quietly made his way towards her, watching the smile on her face as she on the other hand, observed their friends who messed around.

"So you really are one of a kind, huh."

She turned to the side to see Sasuke stare off into the beach like she did, with his hands in his pockets. No matter what he did, it seemed that this man would always look so calm and cool.

"What do you mean?

Sasuke looked her up and down-then their other female friends-and back to her. "I mean, isn't it quite obvious what I mean?"

She grew flustered at this, what was he doing looking her up and down? Hinata knew that Sasuke may well be judging her from her clothing and possibly call her a prude or something. "I-I wouldn't know..."

The Uchiha noticed how she wrapped her arms around herself and cursed inwardly, clearing his throat as if to clear the misunderstanding in an instant. "What I meant is that you're quite unique. In a good way."

Her Lavender eyes met his dark pools, curiosity clear in her expression. She looked down at her clothing and back to her friends, wondering how there could possibly be a good thing about her... in comparison to her friends, she thought.

"Well, naturally, they would wear stuff like that since it's normally more comfortable and more suited but you're over here all covered but you still look... better than them." Sasuke mumbled the last part to himself, secretly pinching his sides to avoid saying anything reckless.

His voice suddenly faded while he tried to explain what he had meant, which naturally left the poor girl confused. But just as she was about to ask, Sasuke casually took off his shirt, tossing it on a bench and folding his arms.

Her face grew warm, like possibly any other girl's would, wondering why Sasuke had done that. The group that Sasuke stood with earlier stared in wonder, some in shock as he carried Hinata, heading towards the water.

Neji panicked and yelled, clenching his fists and marching towards the Uchiha.

Sasuke swayed back and forth, preparing to launch Hinata into the water, which their other friends caught onto, grinning as they made their way towards an acceptable distance from the two. Hinata cried out, clinging onto Sasuke's arm and begging him to stop.

Of course, this wasn't enough to make him change his mind, even with her touch that made his heart skip a beat.

Kiba, Naruto, Shikamaru, Chōji, Lee, and Sai prepared themselves to catch the trembling Hinata. And just before Neji could reach them and help his dear cousin, Sasuke ran and tossed Hinata towards the guys, who caught her, just enough to get her soaked, afterwards helping her up as they laughed along.

The Hyuga male sighed in relief as she didn't seem like she was upset, chuckling quietly to himself as well. Sasuke dove towards them, laughing along. This naturally surprised all of them, even causing Ino, Sakura, and Tenten to blush along with Hinata.

* * *

The silver-haired man looked at his lady friend who wore a two-piece with a towel wrapped around her waist. The erotic novel that was right in his face was just enough for him to quietly observe her and immediately get back to pretending to read whenever she would glance at him.

But even as he thought that he was good at being secretive, not one of his little tricks get past Yamato, his dear junior. Yamato grinned and walked towards him, tagging Shino along. "Oi, Senpai. What are you looking at?"

Kakashi of course thought that his eyes were fast enough to get back in line with his novel, unsuspecting of Yamato who was already well aware of everything. "What does it seem like?"

The brunet chuckled and sat beside Kakashi, leaning close and looking at his novel, then at his usual serious facial expression. "Hmm... don't you think your novel's positioned quite oddly? Why is it folded like that?" Yamato took the novel and demonstrated, pointing out the fact that there's so much space on his left-hand side, like he wouldn't be reading at all.

Kakashi resented the fact that the fellow could sometimes be too intuitive for his own good and he quickly took his novel back, looking at Takane once more before noticing another pair of eyes on him. Looking up, Shino looked down on him, though presumably his novel.

"Kakashi-san... that is quite the.. hn. Quite a great story you have there."

The dark-haired middle-aged man's expression was difficult to read, it was impossible to see if his eyes sparkled in delight because of the novel or if it was a blank expression, like his would usually be. "Ahaha, th-thank you."

His Lavender-haired comrade walked towards them with her arms crossed, noticing the exact same novel he always has in handy. "Are you picturing these poor women like the females in your perverted novel? How shameful."

Kakashi threw the book at Yamato in panic, defensively waving his hands in front of him as she confronted him about his inappropriate ways.

"Ahh senpai... he'll never change."


	8. VII Closer

The hours spent on the beach went by quickly, but everyone seems to have enjoyed it to the fullest.

Everyone gathered around a table, staring at Hinata as she shyly proceeded with checking the presents one by one. She started with the females, receiving stuff like clothing and beauty products. To everyone's surprise, Tenten even got her a nice but perhaps revealing pair of swimwear, given Hinata's size.

The swimsuit silenced everyone, with Tenten's eyes gleaming at her present. "Isn't it beautiful?!"

Hinata rubbed her cheek, not wanting to disappoint her good friend. She then nodded with a small smile as she proceeded with the other gifts. Neji glared at Tenten in disbelief, knowing that there was absolutely no way he was going to let Hinata wear such a thing in front of anyone.

The presents from the guys seemed to interest her more, ranging from stuff related to cooking, more clothing ( _and more decent at that_ ), and stuff that she could put to use at home.

She looked at the jacket that appeared to be from none other than Sasuke himself. She wondered if Sasuke knew that she quite fond of the color Lavender, but nonetheless, she was really glad that he even got her something to begin with. The raven-haired male's heart beat furiously in his chest, hoping she wouldn't inspect it too much or else, she and everyone else will be able to see that crest that he had specially asked to be sewn onto it.

He wasn't sure if he regretted the decision of coming up with such a thing. But even if he did, well there was no turning back. Hinata clutched the jacket close to her while mumbling a quiet 'thank you' to Sasuke, proceeding on to Gaara's present.

It was a small black velvet box and one glance at it tells you that it may have cost quite a lot, something that the Hyūga slightly frowned upon. She wasn't against the idea of receiving presents at all, even if it was embarassing. But it would always make her feel bad whenever someone decided to spend just a tad more than they should have.

Ino, who sat across from Sasuke, eyed the Uchiha the entire time Hinata held the jacket. She wasn't sure if it was really Sasuke who had come up with it and went through the effort of making a patch. She didn't recall there ever being such a crest but nonetheless, looking at it makes you feel like it's familiar, as she has seen both crests separately, quite often.

The velvet box contained a beautiful rose gold necklace with a sparkling rose pendant.

The females that gathered around the table gasped and stared in awe, a little jealous of their friend who received such a beautiful piece. The redhead male stood in the corner, observing her expression as her cheeks grew pink in delight. She turned towards him and bowed, mumbling another 'thank you' before setting the box beside her.

The smile on her face was just what he had hoped for, and getting the (although expensive) magnificent necklace for her was proven to be worth it.

Temari knew the story behind all of it. Months before, Gaara specially dispatched skilled Jōnin from the village, including their brother Kankurō to collect the gift for the fair maiden.

After a bit of chatting between the friends, Hinata proceeded to open the last gift that was from Yamato. Carefully peeling off the wrapper, she held a beautiful music box that was simple but beautiful. She knew from the looks of it that Yamato made it himself, though she was unsure why he had gone as far as to do so.

Thanking everyone once again, she kindly asked if everyone was good to go to dinner now and everyone else agreed upon going to the bar shortly after. Hinata wasn't sure if she had much to do there except talk to her good friends, but decided against it.

* * *

Dinner was light so that everyone could enjoy their time at the surprisingly calming bar that was right next to the main building. A couple of the guys split off to play pool and the some of the females gathered in a sound-proofed room to enjoy some karaoke.

Sasuke immediately head for the bar itself, taking a seat and ordering some wine. Hinata stood by the entrance, observing everyone and the lonesome Uchiha. She quietly made her way towards him to make sure if he was doing alright despite knowing that sometimes he really just wanted to be alone.

He noticed this of course, and he pretended to be unaware as she took the seat beside him. "Are you okay, Sasuke-san?"

His glass of wine arrived just in time as he took a sip, glancing at her. At some point recently, he noticed that the honorific "san" irritated him whenever it came from her. He'd been called like so a couple times in the past but he never imagined she wasn't the type to address him by "Sasuke-kun".

As he remained silent, deep in thought, Hinata observed him, watching as he took sips from his glass of wine. She began to think that maybe she said something wrong or that maybe she was invading his privacy.

She got up to leave but he quickly stopped her, prompting her to sit back down. She found it strange but decided that he perhaps wanted a bit of company, and she was more than glad to be there.

"Where were you before I left the village?"

The strange question startled her, and she leaned over the counter, staring up at him. "I'm certain that I was recovering from the preliminaries against Neji-niisan. Why do you ask?"

Sasuke wasn't sure if it was okay for him to be here and talking to her so casually while they were basically all alone. It surprised him at how comfortable she seemed to be. He had expected that she would atleast be a little uneasy to be sitting here right beside him in a bar where all of their other friends minded other things.

He remained silent as he tried to think of something else that could grant him a conversation with her, since he wasn't around to witness her fight with Neji.

"I've heard that you merged and mastered great techniques at a young age. Like that silver-haired geezer. It seems interesting."

Hinata caught on to the point that maybe Sasuke was trying to start a conversation with her, something that caused her to giggle as she ordered a glass of wine as well. "Ever since my defeat against Neji-nii and seeing Naruto-kun's determination back then, I aspired to become strong and be able to prove myself that I too, can... be as strong-willed and truly powerful as the both of them."

The raven-haired male remembered seeing her in the training fields once with Neji and her younger sister Hanabi as she performed the technique. From first glance, he knew that it required excellent chakra control, and he wasn't too surprised that she was able to pull it off.

"Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists huh..." Secretly, he admired how strong she was and knowing that she worked very hard to get stronger with little help from anyone else. He set down his glass, turning to face her and staring straight into her eyes.

The flustered Hyūga took a sip of her wine, averting her eyes from the Uchiha's intense black orbs. His eyes were something that anyone could probably stare into forever. They were so dark that it was easy to see your reflection. They were so dark that they can sometimes, ( _rarely_ ) be difficult to look away from. But most of all, they were so dark that she wasn't sure if she would be capable of telling apart emotions that they could possible hold.

Her behavior caused him to smirk, reaching for his glass again whilst keeping his eyes on her. He could swear that she would stiffen under his gaze everytime, and it was quite entertaining to watch.

But seeing her up-close and catching her scent and everything else about her made him recall the incident at the beach. He wasn't sure why or how he came up with the idea of almost stripping in front of everyone **and** carrying her once again, feeling her soft skin on his.

Her touch certainly made his heart flutter. It took every ounce of his being not to keep her and run away with her in his arms.

The dark-haired woman with the pink-tinted cheeks caught his attention once again as she tucked her hair behind her ear, an action that he could rarely witness but feel so used to. Refusing to look away from her, he noticed her lips were stained by something, casually pointing it out.

Hinata was confused, rubbing her cheeks over and over with her blush deepening as Sasuke continued to stare at her. He heaved an impatient sigh as he leaned over, wiping the chocolate off her bottom lip and inspecting his thumb.

 _Sweets_..?

By this time, the poor girl's face was already beet red as she trembled before him. This caused him to chuckle once again, smirking in an unkind way as he licked the chocolate off his finger. He didn't like sweets for sure, but the small amount of chocolate didn't seem to bother him.

He savored the small amount, recognizing a familiar flavor, raising a brow at the Hyūga. "Tomato-flavored chocolate?"

Hinata covered her face, unable to think straight as she nodded slightly, chugging down the rest of her wine.

The Uchiha isn't aware of whether she could handle her alcohol well but decided to order another two glasses of wine, passing one towards her. "There's no need to be embarassed, is there?"

Hinata glanced at Sasuke from the corner of her eye. His behavior was starting to become suspicious. "Are you drunk, Uchiha-san?"

He set down his glass and turned to glare at her, well aware that he still had control over his actions. "Uchiha-san? Whatever happened to addressing me by my first name?" Sasuke sighed, grabbing her glass from her and taking her to one corner of the bar where there was a huge TV and sofas with your own self-serve station of alcohol, but the kind that only he'd be able to handle.

She frowned upon his actions, only causing her to suspect even more that the raven-haired man was indeed intoxicated. Out of concern and without thinking, she gently cupped his face, staring into his eyes and checking his temperature. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

Her gentle touch instantly reminded him of his mother. How she treated his wounds often and how her soft hands soothed the pain. His face reddened at the direct contact, and naturally, this worried Hinata and confirmed her suspicions.

Hinata sunk in her seat, pouting and staring at the Uchiha who sat there looking dumbfounded. "S-Sasuke-san, are you even breathing?"

 _Try deep breaths_...

 _Try deep breaths_...

 _It's just out of concern, Sasuke_.

He sighed, not even realizing that he held his breath ever since she'd gotten so close and he took a shot of strong liquor. He took the remote right beside him and changed the channels, ignoring her as he tried to regain his composure.

Hinata watched intently, his hands were shaking and he failed to hold the remote properly, where it eventually fell on his lap. He grasped it in frustration, dumbfounded once again.

She took the remote and set it aside, turning back and grabbing his shoulders, observing him. Here was Sasuke Uchiha right before her, nibbling on his bottom lip with a red face, his hands shaking. There was no doubt in her mind that he was sick. And for a moment, she was troubled. She grabbed the bucket of ice water on the table and carefully dipped half of her handkerchief in it, making sure it was just the right temperature for him.

She gently held the cloth on his forehead, looking down at him and smiling kindly.

Sasuke knew well that he was _not_ sick at all. Her actions were too quick, he never knew that she could be unpredictable as well. This was not a Hinata he was familiar with no matter how kind and gentle she was, just like now.

He averted his gaze from her to see Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba and Sai peeking from the pool table, stifling laughters and strangling each other. His face reddened even more than it already has. The Uchiha felt so pathetic to be in such a state in front of his friends.

"The heat won't subside, Sasuke-san. Are you really sure you're good at handling your alcohol?"

His deep, dark orbs rolled in frustration. He wanted to feel her touch, he wanted her close, he wanted to her care and all but he felt extremely uncomfortable knowing that her eyes were not the only ones watching him. "I'm certain I can handle it much better than you can, thank you."

Hinata smiled at the typical tone spat by the dark-haired male, thinking that he atleast felt well enough to be capable of whining like he always did.

From the other side of the wall yelled Kiba and Naruto in unison. "OOOOOI! HINATA! ARE YOU OKAY IN THEEERE?"

She turned to look at the transparent sliding door, glancing at Naruto and the others and nodding shyly, still pressing the damp cloth on Sasuke's forehead.

"Hyūga, I think I'm all fine now, you can sit back down."

Hinata, slightly taken aback, reluctantly set the cloth on the table and sat down as she was told to. Why Sasuke had suddenly demanded her to was a very good reason. _From his perspective_. Kiba and Naruto's shoulders shook with laughter as they mischievously pointed to Hinata's lower back, something that would throw off Sasuke as he is now, of course.

The four men already knew of his secret and he didn't want the numbers to increase. Any more than that and he'd blow it for sure. He liked to believe that going on a slow pace would be much better than just having his feelings exposed so early.

"Oi, Hyūga. Do you sing?" Hinata bit on her finger, glancing at their female friends who laughed along while singing and smiled. She nodded, sat up straight, and proceeded to hum a lullaby.

His eyes widened at her pleasant voice, it was almost like a bird's soft chirping. She played with the ends of her long dark blue hair, happily humming a pleasant lullaby. He recognized it as a tune that was accompanied by a great poem about a place in the sun. Perhaps is was taught to her by a member of the Hyūga clan. Well naturally.

He leaned back and pretended to stretch his arms over his head only to drop them right by her shoulders. She closed her eyes and hummed the end, leaning back with a satisfied smile.

 _Closer_...

They've become much closer.


End file.
